the day the earth stood assimilated
by charlie plotkin
Summary: After examining a spatial anomally, the USS Goliath is transported to an alternate universe. One in which the Borg have conquered the Federation. The crew of the Goliath is now the galaxies last hope for freedom.
1. Chapter 1

The day the Earth stood Assimilated:

Part I: A long way from home.

Admiral's Log:

USS Goliath is currently on a routine patrol of the Border Lands. Aside from the occasional Orion convoy, this mission has been relatively uneventful. Cavell has detected a class four anomaly near the Federation/Klingon border. We are en route to investigate.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"Admiral on the deck!".

The bridge crew stands at attention as Admiral Plotkin steps of the turbo lift.

"As you were. Mr. Cavell, status on the anomaly".

"It does not appear on any of your computers. All scans seem to disappear within it. Either this is a new kind of black hole, or we are looking at an undiscovered portal".

"A portal? To where?"

"Unknown".

"Then send a probe into it and find out. Do I have to think of everything?"

"No sir".

The probe is launched from the torpedo tubes. It enters the anomaly, and then stops transmitting data.

"The probe has stopped transmitting".

"All right, this is getting too weird. Contact head quarters. I want one of our science vessels out here to investigate as soon as possible".

"Shall I contact Starfleet sir?"

"Negative Mr. Icheb. Not until we know what the hell we are looking at".

Icheb transmits his signal back to Section 31 head quarters on Earth. All appears to be routine, but the return transmission is incomprehensibly garbled.

"Sir, the transmissions from Earth are encountering massive interference".

"Interference? From whose side, ours or theirs?"

"Unknown".

"Well then, boost the power Icheb".

"No effect".

"All right, this is getting weird. Lucy, activate our new trans warp drive. Get us as far away from this thing as possible".

"Aye sir".

The trans warp drive is activated. Simultaneously, the anomaly begins to glow red and begins to pull the Goliath into it. The entire vessel shakes wildly.

"RED ALERT. Maximum power to the engines".

As the thrust from the trans warp drive increases, so does the pull of the anomaly.

"It's no use. We can't break free".

"Switch to warp drive. Get us away from this thing".

"No effect. We are being pulled in".

The Goliath enters the anomaly and the vibrations increase rapidly. The ship is being shaken apart.

"Anders, launch the subspace weapons NOW".

"Sir, that could destroy us".

"If you don't, the anomaly will destroy us. Do it!"

A pair of tricobalt devices are jettisoned from the starboard side of the Goliath. They explode, causing the anomaly to become unstable and collapse. The Goliath breaks free from the anomaly just moments before it completely collapses.

"Status on the anomaly".

"It has been destroyed, sir".

"Status on the Goliath".

"We have casualty reports coming in from all over the ship. But nothing serious".

A startled Icheb cries out "Sir. You have to hear this".

"We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own".

"What the hell?""Sir, four Borg Cubes on an intercept course".

"On screen".

The four immense vessels are approaching in a diamond slot formation.

"They are charging weapons".

"TRANSPHASIC TORPEDOES! NOW!".

Four transphasic torpedoes are launched from the primary torpedo tubes. They each impact their respective targets dead center. Within moments, all four Borg Cubes are destroyed.

"What the hell just happened?"

"We were attacked, sir".

"I know that. What I want to know is how the Collective was re-established".

Icheb spins around. There is a strange signal being transmitted from a nearby asteroid field.

"Sir, I am detecting a Federation distress signal. But.."

"But.. But what Mr. Icheb?"

"Sir, only Section 31 uses this bandwith".

"So it's one of ours. Helm, set a course for that signal. Mr. Cavell, please tell me the cloaking devices is operational".

"Aye. But it has never been field tested".

"Now seems like a good time. Activate the cloak".

"But we have no way of knowing if it works. The Borg might still detect us".

"If we remain visible, the definitely will detect us. Activate the God damn cloaking device. That is an order".

Battlefield:

The USS Goliath is floating through the debris of the four Borg vessels. The Goliath begins to fade, then becomes completely invisible.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"Status".

"The cloaking device is functioning properly".

"And all other systems?"

"Everything is functioning properly. We can proceed with the rescue, which I think is a trap".

"Cavell, you think everything is a trap. Helm, take us to the signal. Maximum warp".

"Sir, trans warp will get us there faster".

"I know that Lucy. I also know that the Borg can track vessels in transwarp. We might arrive later than we would in trans warp, but at least we will arrive".

"Aye aye. It's your ship".

"You're forgetting something helmsman".

"Which is?""That I do know what I am doing. Engage".

Asteroid Field:

The now invisible USS Goliath is following the signal through the asteroid field. The signal is traced to the largest asteroid in the field.

"The signal is definitely being generated from within that asteroid".

"Mr. Cavell, is there any entrance?"

"Negative. That thing is solid as a rock".

"It is a rock, you incompetent toaster".

"ROE!"

"Sorry".

"I don't think so".

"Care to explain, Icheb".

"These readings indicate that the asteroid is an advanced, holographic force field".

"That is preposterous. If this was a hologram, our sensors would have detected the ship".

"All due respect, Mr. Cavell. I have seen this type of equipment in the Delta Quadrant, and sensors are useless".

"Well, we are not in the Delta Quadrant".

"SHUT IT. BOTH OF YOU".

"Aye, sir".

"Helmsman, remind me to schedule a shore leave for the crew. We have been on this ship too long".

"Will do sir".

"All right then. Icheb, open a channel".

"Channel open".

"This is the USS Goliath to the Federation vessel. Respond or we will fire on you".

In response, a frantic voice is heard over the speaker.

"Do not shoot. Do not shoot".

"Who is this?"

"This is Captain McAllister, USS Caine. Hold your fire, Goliath".

"The Caine? Queeg, is that you?"

"Why you insolent...Admiral Plotkin? I never thought I would be glad to hear your voice".

"Likewise. Give us your position. I will be taking an away team to the Caine".

"I am sending my coordinates now. God bless you sir".

Communications with the Caine end.

"Well, that was unusual".

"Captain Queeg, sir?"

"The Caine is one of our science research vessels. Since McAllister volunteered for that post, there is a running gag throughout Section 31 that he took the position to get out of combat duty".

"Then what does Queeg mean?"

"It's an old Earth reference, Lucy".

"You use a lot of those".

"Well, I did spend the twentieth through twenty second centuries on Earth".

The coordinates to the Caine's bridge our downloaded into the navigational computer.

"Sir, we are ready to send an away team".

"Good. I'm going too. Let's see what the hell is happening out here".

USS Caine, Bridge:

The away team beams aboard the Caine, to discover a ship in dire need of an overhaul. Wires, tubing, conduits, and other objects are strewn all about the bridge. The crew is dressed in outdated uniforms, all of which are torn or burnt. The male crew members have beards that reach their chests. One bearded man runs up to Admiral Plotkin and throws his arms around him.

"Admiral! Welcome back".

"Unh. Thank you Captain. Are you crying?"

"No. There is something in the ship's atmosphere. Oh who am I kidding? It has been so long since we have seen another crew. This is the happiest day of my life".

"Don't get all mushy on me Queeg. Just tell me what the hell happened to the Caine".

Captain McAllister was completely taken aback by this question. He stepped away from the Admiral and just stared at him.

"Where the hell have you been this past decade?"

"Let's see: I've been at war with the Dominion, the Romulans, The Borg, The Orion Syndicate, the Cardassians, the Breen, the Klingon Empire, we are still talking about the past decade, right?"

"You're...You're not from this universe!"

"What are you blabbering about... Queeg, what is the status of the Federation?"

"It was assimilated a decade ago. Shortly afterwards, the Borg conquered the rest of the Quadrant".

"Everyone?"

"The Romulans, the Klingons, the Cardissains, the Ferengi. When our scanners picked up your battle with the four bastards, we knew something was out of place. We just hoped you were one of ours that had survived the massacres".

"You detected our battle?"

"We have specialized scanners. When one ship destroys four Borg Cubes, everyone takes notice. Their whole fleet must be hunting you by now".

"Then the sooner we escape this dimension and return to our own, the better. Away team, prepare to move out".

"WAIT! YOU CAN'T LEAVE US! PLEASE, YOU ARE OUR ONLY HOPE".

"This isn't our war".

"WE ARE THE ONLY SHIP LEFT! FOR THE FEDERATION, YOU MUST FIGHT! YOU COWARD!"

That hit a nerve. No one called Admiral Plotkin a coward and lived.

"Coward! COWARD! I did not die destroying the Unicomplex just the get killed now. You son of a bitch. I have already collapsed the collective, destroyed the Unicomplex, and terminated the Borg Queen. I have saved the Federation more times than I can count over the past four hundred years. You piss ass little..."

"Did you say you destroyed the collective?"

"Let me finish, you insignificant little..."

"If you did it in your dimension, you can do it again here. Please, you are the Alpha Quadrant's last chance at freedom. Billions of people are enslaved by the Collective. You must help us!"

"Fine, come with us to the Goliath. We can debate this with my senior officers. If they agree, then we go to war against the Borg. Again".

USS Goliath, Briefing Room:

"Alright People, now we have a choice to make. A, we try to fight a fleet of thousands on our own. B, we run and live another day".

"What do you think Admiral?"

"I think we have done our duty against the Borg. Now it's someone else's battle".

Lucy could not believe her ears. The Goliath never ran from an enemy. The Borg were no different. Why now, why this sudden change?

"I can hear your thoughts, Lucy. And I wish that I couldn't".

"What are you talking about? Have you gone mad?"

"This is something I hoped you would never know".

The Admiral stood before all of his senior officers and extended his arm. To the shock of everyone, especially Captain McAllister, a pair of assimilation tubes extended from his fist.

"I am, and have been for the last few months, Borg. I am still an individual, and intend to stay that way. I do not know what will happen if we encounter the collective again".

"You're afraid. We all are. But you once told me, that as long as men live free, the Borg will be opposed. Isn't that the El Aurian way: resist to the last man. Well, now we are the last ship. Do you stand by your conviction, or are you a fraking hypocrite".

"Well, when you put it that way. To the barricades my friends. And Roe, you know what to do".

"Aye, sir".

"I need to plan a strategy around a single ship. This will be more difficult than our previous victories. At the wormhole, we had one hundred ships to meet their fleet. At the Unicomplex, we had the Assimilator and the Infiltrator to watch out backs. Now we are on our own. Dismissed".

The senior officers begin to file out of the room. Before returning to their positions, Lucy walked over to Roe.

"Commander, what did he mean by "you know what to do"?"

"The Admiral is always prepared for the worst case scenario. If he feels himself losing his grip on his individuality, we are to eliminate him. Before he can relay our strategic information to the Borg".

"What? You would kill your own C.O.?"

"Of course. If it will save the ship from complete destruction, I will kill him without a second's hesitation".

"How dangerous could he really be? I mean, he is the Admiral".

"If the Borg take him, he will become a mindless slave. Worse, the Borg will know everything that he knows. All of our defences, all of our weapons will be useless. We will all die".

"Oh, then I'll be back".

Lucy quickly turned around and ran back to the briefing room. She walked over to the Admiral, and slapped him in the face.

"YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME YOU LYING SACK OF SHIT!"

"Whoa! Hold on a minute. We will talk about this later".

"No! We will discuss this now, or I am going to find different lodgings for the night".

"Go ahead. In case you haven't noticed, I have to lead one thousand of my finest men in a suicide mission that cannot possibly succeed".

"What are you talking about? You have faced tougher situations than this and won".

"Are you malfunctioning? One ship cannot free the entire Quadrant. The moment we free one world, the Borg will take it back when we move on to the next. They have thousands, maybe millions of ships against our one. We have no backup, we have no way of infiltrating the Unicomplex, and even our cloaking device will not hide us forever. We have voted in favour of a futile war".

"I thought you said resistance was never futile".

"Lucy, with fifty ships I could do it. Thirty, twenty would be the bare minimum. But one. Be serious".

"I am serious. There a billions of people waiting for you to free them. They are counting on you to build a new world for them. This time, you actually are singing the song of angry men. Now will they stay slaves, or will you free them".

Plotkin thought for a few minutes. Then he smiled, and turned to face Lucy.

"You always did know how to get to me".

"That's why you love me".

"Amen to that. Alright, now I really do need to think about a strategy. God help us if we run into one or more Tactical Cubes".

"We've destroyed them before".

"With help. Now please, I need to concentrate".

"All right".

Lucy turned around and began to leave the briefing room. Unfortunately for the Admiral, she remembered the reason she went back to him.

"Wait a minute. You made me forget what I was mad about. YOU SON OF A BITCH".

"Here we go again. Please, Lucy, I do not need this now".

"Just tell me why? Why have you kept this from me?"

"Because it scares the shit out of me. John's surgery didn't take, and the little buggers learned to adapt to all treatments. At the moment, I am in complete control. But..."

For the first time since she had met him, she saw Admiral Plotkin was afraid. The leader of Section 31 was afraid.

"I don't want to live like that Lucy. Without free will, without a personality. If that happens, promise you will kill me".

"I..."

"Promise me".

"I promise".

"Thank you. Now I have to go to sickbay, make sure these things haven't adapted again. Wait, that's it".

He ran up to Lucy and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you. What would I do without you".

"What?"

The Admiral rushed to the bridge.

"All right boys and girls. I want all torpedoes converted to transphasic torpedoes. And I want them adapted to increase their destructive yield. I want my top engineers in the briefing room, we are going to work out a way to bring down those behemoths".

"What will we do about our strategic difficulties?"

"I haven't gotten there yet. Let me think. Lucy, you come from a collective consciousness, right?"

"Not exactly. We had our disagreements, almost had a civil war amongst ourselves. In fact..."

"That's it. Lucy, you are a genius".

"What did I do now?"

"Mr. Icheb, are you familiar with Unimatrix Zero?"

"Yes sir, but there is no evidence that it exists in this universe. Or that it has ever existed".

"Even if it doesn't, suppose the mutation that caused Unimatrix Zero does exist in this universe. We can grab a Borg with this mutation, analyze it, and then modify the deflector dish to generate the mutation in all of the drones in a ship. We can then liberate that ship, and get them to do the same with other ships. We will help the people rise up and throw down their oppressors".

"It's brilliant. But what if it doesn't work?"

"Or if the Borg squish this little rebellion before we can build a sizable force?"

"Then we fight with what he have, and resist to the last free man. If we modify a virus and distribute it throughout the ships in the Quadrant, we can create others that will rise up to take our place. Imagine, a fleet of Free Borg, fighting to liberate their worlds. I want everyone working on this. If we can create a resistance, we just might convince the old Borg Queen to abandon the Alpha Quadrant".

USS Goliath, Briefing Room:

"All right people, here is the plan. We are going to adapt our sensors to locate one of these mutated drones, track down his ship, then beam on to it. We grab this drone, then we clear out. Mr. Anders will destroy the ship with a transphasic torpedo, then we begin to experiment on our prisoner. We find out how to liberate this thing, and how to replicate his mutation. Once we have done that, we begin to infect as many other Borg ships as we can".

"One problem sir, the Borg will adapt. They will modify their shields to repel our mutation beams. Even worse, they might adapt at the cellular level. It may become impossible to liberate any more drones".

"Then we fight with those we have already liberated. But I want a contingency plan, just in case this fails. This is why I want to send a spy aboard the chosen ship, before we grab the Borg drone".

"A spy? For what purpose?""I want to know how the Collective operates in the Alpha Quadrant. There might be some sort of control mechanism that they can not operate without. A second Unicomplex, a transwarp hub, a command ship. Something that we can use to weaken the Queen's grip on this side of the galaxy. We can learn of this by infiltrating their computer banks".

"And who do you have in mind for cracking their computers?"

"Someone who can move amongst the Borg unnoticed. Someone whom the Borg will identify as their own. Who can penetrate their force fields and shields without raising an alarm, someone in Borg armour".

Anders knew who the Admiral was talking about, and it made him sick to his stomach. They were sending a boy to fulfill an important mission.

"My wife will not like this".

"She doesn't have to. We need the boy's help".

"Why can't you or Icheb do this?"

"We don't exactly fit in on a Borg ship. Plus, only one clad in Borg armour can penetrate their shields without blowing something up".

"And if this ship is a Tactical Cube? Or if one is called in to help it, what do we do then?"

"I think I have a way to solve that problem, Mr. Anders. But if it fails, then at least we will die fighting".

"Somehow, I don't feel any better. What is the plan?"

"We will adapt all of our torpedoes to an eighty Isoton, transphasic warhead. That is enough firepower to blow a planet in half. With every torpedo carrying that much destructive force, we should have no trouble destroying any enemy starship. Just make sure you fire accurately, I don't want some poor planet getting blown to bits because you missed".

"How do we modify the torpedoes?"

"I will download the appropriate schematics. Get the entire security force working on this Anders. I want every single torpedo to be an eighty Isoton transphasic torpedo by the time we depart. Get on it".

To be Continued.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2: Fight for Freedom

USS Caine, Bridge:

The crew of the Caine is cooperating with the crew of the Goliath. Admiral Plotkin, Lucy Three, and Icheb are assisting the Caine's bridge crew. Everyone is attempting to recalibrate the sensors to locate one particular Borg drone out of millions.

"I still can't get this thing to work at full capacity".

"Here, allow me".

Admiral Plotkin attaches his assimilation tubes to the computer terminal. Within seconds, the Admiral's particular brand of nanoprobes are surging through the computer.

"Try it now".

"It's working perfectly. Thanks, you must be really handy around the house".

"I don't have one. But thanks anyway, This ship is in very poor condition".

At this statement, Captain McAllister marched over to his superior.

"Well, your ship wouldn't be in pristine condition if it had seen as much action as we have without the benefit of spacedock".

"This is a science ship. The Goliath is a battleship. Believe me, we have seen hundreds of battles and spent months on end without putting into port. We are excellent technicians, we have to be".

"There is just one thing that bothers me: how did THAT happen?"

"I died".

"I beg your pardon, Admiral?"

"We attacked the Unicomplex. Three Borg Cubes came along side us and we annihilated them. Unfortunately, the targets were a little too close. The debris field hit us and the bridge was rocked by an explosion. Next thing I know, I am lying in sickbay and someone is telling me that I was killed by a piece of debris".

"Killed by a piece of your own ship. For how long?"

"Half an hour. For me, it was like one second. Four months later, I still can't get these damn nanoprobes out".

"But how did they get in?"

"I was revived by a Rogue Borg called Marius, who also happens to be my oldest friend".

"Well, let's hope your Borg pals come through like you said. To think we have struggled all of these years to be saved by Rogue Borg".

"Let's hope so".

Icheb is monitoring all Borg transmissions in the area. Suddenly, he hears what he has been waiting for. A Borg with the mutation has been found.

"Sir, we have one".

"You found an infected Borg?"

"Yes sir, one drone. He is on a sphere, about twelve light years from here".

"Mr. Icheb, remind me to give you my best bottle of Romulan ale when this is over. Goliath, three to beam up".

USS Goliath, Transporter Room 1:

Admiral Plotkin is giving a last minute briefing to young Zack Thrace. Starbuck is standing by the transporter chief, silently cursing out the Admiral.

"He had better come back from this. Sir".

"Thanks for adding the Sir on the end. Do you understand your mission?"

"Board the ship, act as one of them, then infiltrate the main computer and search for a weakness in the Borg occupation".

"Listen Zack, you are the only one with Borg armour. If this fails, we will never have another chance. So be careful, and complete your mission. No matter what, understood?"

"I understand".

"One more thing, Zack. From here on out, there is to be no verbal or visual communication with the Goliath until you have returned aboard. We can not risk interception by the Borg".

"Sir, am I to complete this on my own?"

"No. We can still communicate. Ever since I was resurrected by Marius, I have been able to hear the thoughts of others. I can hear your thoughts, you can hear mine".

"Like the Borg. Then they will hear your thoughts as well".

"No, it is different. The Borg can only hear each other. I can hear the thoughts of every machine. I have heard John's thoughts, and the thoughts of all of the Cylons. That is something even the Borg Queen can not do. Let's do a check, just to be sure".

From this point forward, the Admiral and the drone would not say a word. They communicated nonverbally.

"Can you hear me?"

"Affirmative. All clear, sir".

"Good luck, Ensign Thrace".

The Admiral saluted the young man, who then saluted back.

"Energize".

Borg Sphere:

Zack beams aboard, unnoticed. He immediately establishes a connection with his commander.

"Thrace to Plotkin, I am in the ship".

"Have they noticed you yet?"

"Negative. Everything is routine here".

"Proceed to primary information center. Try not to attract any attention. And remember to communicate only through thought, never speak a word. Got it?"

"Affirmative".

Zack proceeds through the Sphere, without attracting any attention. The Borg are preoccupied piloting their vessel to notice a single drone. The Queen is preoccupied maintaining billions of drones simultaneously to notice a single ship with an unwanted passenger. After finally reaching the data node, he attaches his assimilation tubules to the node.

"I have started the download. Will contact you again when I find something".

"Copy that Thrace. Good luck, may your Gods protect you. Over and out".

USS Goliath, Bridge:

Starbuck is standing beside her husband, and watching the Admiral. That was her boy he sent off to that ship. What if he doesn't come back? Damn what the Admiral says. She will go get him if things go south, no matter what the consequence.

"He will be alright, Kara. You have taught him a lot these past few months".

"I hope you are right, Sam. If something goes wrong.."

"You will do nothing, Lieutenant Commander Thrace. You are of no use to anyone if you're a drone or a corpse".

"She is just nervous sir. Zack has been like a son to her".

"I know Mr. Anders. But she...Wait a minute".

It had suddenly occurred to the Admiral that Anders had not opened his mouth. He was communicating non verbally. This meant one of two possibilities: He was a telepath or the Admiral could hear his thoughts. That meant that Mr. Anders was, in fact, a machine.

"Mr. Anders, why can I hear your thoughts?"

"Well, you can hear everyone's, right?"

"No, you idiot. Only machines. Which is what you are, Cylon".

Starbuck almost fainted. Her husband was a Cylon! No wonder he had been so supportive on Galactica. He thought she was one too. But was she? Only one way to know.

"I hate your guts, you incompetent, risk taking mother fracker"

"Knockit off. You're not a machine Thrace".

"Then how do you know what I am thinking?"

"Probably because I just sent your brat on his first away mission. Logic dictates that you wish me to spontaneously combust. You have also learnt that your husband is a machine. Therefore, you are wondering if you are one as well. Am I close, or just pulling smoke out of my ass?"

"You're good".

"I took psychology back on Earth".

"Zack to Admiral, we might have a little problem".

"What is it?""Apparently, your counterpart tried to pull the same stunt you did at the Unicomplex. Only he failed. The Goliath was destroyed, and the Queen has quadrupled security in the collective. I do not think any virus attack will work".

"Shit!"

This time, the Admiral forgot to communicate non verbally. The entire bridge crew heard him, and they were concerned by what they heard.

"Problem, Admiral?"

"Yeah. Apparently, my double was not as lucky as I was. The Queen beat off the virus and is ready for any other attempts".

"Is Zack alright?"

"God damn it. We might be facing complete annihilation and you are worried about the drone".

"Someone has to. Especially since the Admiral does not seem to care about his troops".

"THRACE! I SWEAR I WILL RIP YOU IN TWO!"

Largely forgotten, Zack had uncovered a weakness in the Queen's strategy. Now if he could just get someone to listen.

"Uh, am I interrupting something?"

"No. Go ahead Zack".

Unfortunately, Starbuck was not in the mood to give up.

"Excuse me, sir. But if you have something to say, I'm all ears".

"Ok then. SHUT UP. I'm trying to hear an intelligence report".

"Zack?"

"Shut up or I will throw you in the brig".

Zack continued his report.

"Sir, it seems the Queen has made a fatal error. She has personal command over every drone on every ship in the Quadrant. Yet, she has delegated control of the planets to Locutus".

"Picard? He is still a Borg".

"Yes sir. If we destroy him and his ship, then all those assimilated on the conquered worlds will be free. It won't affect the numerous ships in the Quadrant, but.."

"But it will be a major setback for the Queen. And will make freeing this lousy galaxy a whole lot easier. Good work Ensign. Do you think you can locate Locutus for me?"

"No problem. I have also located that drone you are looking for".

"Good download his coordinates into my receiver. I will transmit it to the transporters so we can get the hell out of here".

The data is uploaded into the Admiral's brain, who then downloads it into his chair consol through his assimilation tubes.

"Bridge to transporter chief, I am sending you the coordinates for our target. Lock onto him, but wait until I give the order to beam him up".

"Yes sir".

Borg Sphere:

Zack is searching through the Borg navigational data, attempting to locate the planetary control vessel. Finally, he finds what he has been looking for.

"Admiral, I have a location for Locutus".

"Great job, Zack. Now, just deactivate the drone we are looking for,signal me when you are done".

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"All right, Zack has done his job. Transporter room, beam him and our "guest" on board. NOW!"

"Yes sir".

After a few minutes, the Admiral resumes contact with the transporter room.

"Do you have them?"

"Yes sir. The boy is just fine, and the other one is sleeping like a baby. A big, horrifying baby".

"Beam our "guest" to sickbay. I want John working on him right away. Mr. Three, take us away from the Sphere. Mr. Cavel, drop the cloak. Mr. Anders, lock transphasic torpedoes. Fire on my command. Engage".

The Goliath begins to become visible and moves away from the Sphere. Once the ship has been detected by the Borg's sensors, the Sphere begins its pursuit.

"They are powering up their weapons".

"Now, Mr. Anders. FIRE!"

A single transphasic torpedo is fired and impacts dead center of the sphere. The ship is completely annihilated.

"That should keep them guessing as to our objective. Re-activate the cloak, set a course for the Caine. And have Zack meet the senior officers in the briefing room. We have a few hundred star systems to liberate".

USS Goliath, Briefing Room:

The senior officers are gathered around the conference table. At the very back of the room, the Cylons are standing at attention. The Admiral is in the middle of outlying his battle plan.

"All right, here is the plan. This is the current location of the Borg command armada. It is close to this nebula, which is full of explosive materials. We will attach transphasic torpedoes to the bows of our fighters, and pilot them by remote on collision courses with the Borg. If we have modified the torpedoes correctly, we should be able to take out one Cube per fighter. They will be deemed as unimportant by the Borg, and will not be intercepted. Once we have crashed our last fighter, we drop our cloak, fire a spread of transphasic torpedoes, and then head for the Nebula. Some of the Borg follow us in, but will not fire. They know our technology is valuable, and they can not assimilate it if it has been vaporized. We then drop a tricobolt device, and warp out of the nebula a split second before detonating it. The nebula goes up like a torch, and we destroy all Borg vessels within it. We then draw the remaining ships to the nearby red giant star, trigger a supernova, and wipe out the remainder of their armada. Locutus is destroyed, the planets are free, and we can start work on our resistance movement".

"Question? How do we stop the Queen from resuming control of all drones in the Quadrant?"

"All of our intelligence suggests that there a thirty minute time delay between the Queen and the Alpha Quadrant. Thirty minutes is like an eternity in battle".

"How do we set off a supernova?"

"Simple, we launch one of our trilithieum warheads into it".

"Isn't that illegal?""Mr. Anders, how often do we do anything legal? Anyway, the weapon is of El Aurian design, so it will work".

"Good point. One more thing, how do we lure the Borg to the red giant? I doubt they are dumb enough to fall for the same trick twice".

"In cargo bay 1, we have a few containers of Omega Particles".

"We have what?"

"All Section 31 ships have them. In the event the ship is ever overrun, the commanding officer is to detonate the Particles and vaporize the ship and its equipment".

"Why would the Borg care?"

"Omega Particles have a sort of religious significance for the Borg. It's like you people and the Final Five".

"Who told you about that?"

"It's not important. What is important is that the Borg will risk many ships to acquire these things. We draw them to the star, blow it up. Of course, they will leave of few ships in reserve. This is why we will fill all of our cargo bays and shuttle bays with explosive gas from the nebula. We keep some of the Omega Particles in reserve, use them as bait in our second trap. We envelop the particles in the explosive material, draw in the Borg, blow them all to hell. Any questions?"

"Yeah, what are all the tin heads doing here?"

"Watch your mouth before I vaporize it. They are here because one of them will be my successor".

At first, the senior officers were speechless. Then they all screamed in one voice: "WHAT?"

"Unknown to you, I have had the Cylon resurrection technology duplicated at our head quarters. Now, I intend to go down with my ship. I expect all of you to do the same. If the Goliath is ever destroyed...Oh who are we kidding? With our missions, we will all be destroyed someday. The Cylons will all be downloaded into duplicate bodies back at our base. Since there is no one else on this ship with the ability to resurrect, this will make the "Tin heads" as you call them, the only surviving officers from our flagship. This makes one of them next in line to command the next flagship, and by association, command of Section 31".

"Who will be the head honcho?"

"Cavel, will you ever become more sophisticated? The line of succession will only be determined after we return to our universe. Not before. So keep your paranoid ambitions to yourselves. No one can download in this universe, there isn't a base here to download to. That is all. Dismissed".

USS Goliath, Bridge:

The officers have all returned to their posts, as the Goliath prepares for battle.

"Sir, the fighters are equipped with the new warheads. All systems report ready for remote controlled flight".

"Excellent. I want all of our best pilots at the control stations. Let's make this look good".

"Sir, the Caine wishes to speak to you".

"Put it through to my ready room".

The Admiral enters his ready room and sits at his desk.

"Ok. What do you want Queeg?"

"Admiral, I request permission to join you in the attack".

"Denied. Anything else?"

"Admiral.."

"The Caine doesn't have torpedo tubes. Since modified torpedoes are the most effective way of destroying Borg vessels, you will be useless in battle".

"We can still fight. This is our universe".

"And you blew it. We are taking over".

"Sir, the men and I want to fight. We have fought the Borg for years, and we will not sit this one out".

"Well, we do need someone to draw the Borg into our line of fire. You think you can lead the Borg into our direction without getting destroyed or assimilated".

"We sure as hell will try. Just let me know when the attack is".

"Tomorrow at 0800 hours. Get the Caine ready, and get those engines working at full capacity. You will need to me quick to avoid destruction".

"Aye, aye sir. Thank you sir".

USS Goliath, Ten Forward:

The Admiral is alone, walking back and forth through the bar. All is dark and quiet, as the crew readies for battle. Those who will take part in the attack are sleeping, all except the Admiral. The door to Ten Forward opens, and Lucy enters.

"It's getting late. You should be in bed".

"I don't think I can sleep before battle".

"I said to go to bed. I didn't say you had to sleep".

She is now directly behind him, with her hands on his shoulders.

"This is the only time I am ever going to say this. I think you should find someone else to make your back glow tonight".

"What? What are you talking about?"

"When we started to see each other, I spoke to Sharon and Caprica. Just in case there was something I should know about Cylon anatomy. They both said not to be alarmed if your back starts to glow bright red. Apparently, it is perfectly natural".

"It is. I just didn't think you knew about that".

"You know, I have often wondered. If your back glows when you have sex, why don't your nipples start to blink?"

Lucy burst out laughing.

"Can you be serious for once?"

"I doubt it. Especially when we are about to go into a futile battle".

"Futile?"

"We are outnumbered by millions. If we do destroy their command armada, and that is a big if, we will have only half an hour to start a rebellion in the collective. Then, we have to organize a resistance movement, and try to push the Borg out of the Alpha Quadrant before the Queen crushes us".

"Difficult, but do able".

"If worse comes to worse, we will have to find a way to kill them all".

"Well, I have always said that genocide should be used as a last resort. But.."

"Don't bullshit me Lucy, you have as much blood on your hands as I do".

"What? What are you getting at?""I know you organized the massacre of the Colonials. Don't worry, I have committed many genocides over the years".

"You've..".

"Destroyed entire civilizations for the good of the Federation. In total war, you do everything in your power to ensure the survival of your own people. I understand that, I respect that. It's them or you. That's one of the reasons I like you. You know that drastic actions must be taken for the greater good".

"Do you have a plan to destroy them?"

"Let me think. Wait, all Borg ships have a centralized self destruct mechanism. After we destroy the command ship, we can use our "guest" to destroy them. We simply re-attach him to collective, and trick them into setting of a Collective wide termination sequence. With the Queen cut out of the loop, we will have half an hour to work it out. Good God, Lucy, you are a genius".

"Uh. Thank you".

"Come on. I know John doesn't sleep either. We can get him started on this now".

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"All right, it's now 0800. Let's kick some shiny metal ass. Engage".

Spatial Grid 22829:

Hundreds of Borg Tactical and basic Cubes are creating a perimeter around the command Cube. Without warning, thirty remote controlled Federation fighters emerge from the nearby Nebula. They are on a collision course with thirty Cubes.

Borg Command Ship:Locutus is surrounded by drones. They are standing in front of a view screen, observing the formation of fighters.

"Vessels identified: Federation single seat fighter craft. Danger level: zero. Resume course".

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"Red alert. Status on the attack squad".

"Sir, they are proceeding unchallenged towards their targets. The Borg are not reacting".

"Of course not. They only act when they perceive a threat. These ships are too small to be any danger to them".

"The Caine reports ready to begin diversionary attacks".

"Confirmed. Tell Queeg to keep his rear end in one piece. Plotkin to Thrace, it's all yours Starbuck. Good hunting".

USS Goliath, Holodeck:

All of the pilots are sitting in exact replicas of their fighter cockpits. From these replicas, they are controlling the actual fighters on their attack run on the Borg.

"Starbuck to all squad mates, let's burn some metal. Boomer, take your attack wing and crash their left flank. Hot Rod, hit their right flank. I'll take the center. Time to earn our pay".

Spatial Grid 22829:

The fighters are on their final approach. "Starbuck to all fighters, full speed ahead. Let's ram these babies up their metal ass!"

The fighters increase to ramming speed and impact dead center of the Cubes. Each fighter hits dead center of a Borg Tactical cube. The thirty enormous vessels are blown apart by the eighty isoton transphasic warheads.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

The entire bridge crew erupts in cheers and applause:

"Yes!"

"WOOHOO!"

"Well, now we know the modified warheads work. Contact the Caine. Time to launch our ambush".

Borg Command Ship:

The entire collective is in shock. Thirty of their finest warships have been destroyed in a matter of seconds.

"Begin scanning wreckage. Modify shields. This technology must be assimilated".

"Vessel identified: USS Caine. We will pursue and assimilate".

Spatial Grid 22829:

The Caine emerges from behind an asteroid and begins firing its phasers at the Borg. The ship is zig-zagging at maximum speed, attempting to dodge enemy fire.

USS Caine, Bridge:

"Sir, they have modified their shields. Our weapons are useless".

"We've got fifteen Borg following us, sir".

"Keep going, we just need to get them into position".

USS Goliath, Bridge:"They are in position. Drop the cloak, then fire a string of transphasic torpedoes".

"Aye, aye sir".

Spatial Grid 22829:

The Goliath materializes behind the fifteen Borg vessels. Within seconds, a barrage of fifteen torpedoes in unleashed. The torpedoes all reach their mark, and obliterate the Borg battle group.

The Caine speeds away from the battle, leaving the Goliath to handle to the bulk of the Borg armada.

Borg Command Ship:

"Fifteen Tactical Cubes destroyed. USS Caine has departed the battle. We will pursue and assimilate".

"No. The Caine is irrelevant. The Goliath is our prize. Assimilate that technology, at all cost".

Spatial Grid 22829:

The Borg fleet separates into two major battle groups. One group remains in position, the other pursues the Goliath. The Goliath then heads into the nebula, followed by the Borg.

USS Goliath, Bridge:"At least fifty ships have followed us into the nebula. Their weapons are not charged".

"Of course not, you twit. A prize is worthless if it is incinerated. Open all doors and vents, let's get ready for part C of the plan".

Nebula:

The Goliath is running at full impulse, with the Borg close on her heals. The doors of the cargo bays and shuttle bays open, and begin to collect matter from the Nebula. When the bays are full, the doors shut and the shields are raised once again.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"The Borg have reached the center of the nebula".

"Excellent. Let's drop off our package".

Nebula:

The Goliath ejects another tricobalt device into the nebula. A millisecond before detonating the device, the Goliath jumps into transwarp. Before the Borg can react, the subspace weapon explodes and ignites the nebula. The second Borg armada is completely engulfed in flames. The explosion triggers a shockwave that hits the remaining Borg fleet, destroying many Cubes.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"Status report".

"All decks report combat readiness".

"The nebula?"

"According to long range sensors, the nebula has been destroyed".

"And the Borg?"

"All ships in the nebula have been destroyed. Plus, a shockwave has destroyed one fourth of their remaining ships".

"Excellent. We might just win this".

"What if they send in reinforcements?"

"They can't. There is more than one reason I chose this location to launch our attack".

"Is there something else we should know?"

"The asteroids in this region are full of tilium. The radiation disrupts all long range communications, even Borg communications. Now for phase two of operations. Deploy some the of Omega Particles. Let's set the bait for this trap".

Borg Command Ship:

"Omega Particles detected. They must be acquired at any cost. Vessel identified, USS Goliath. Request instructions, Locutus".

"Send half of our remaining ships to destroy the Goliath and obtain the Omega Particles. Contact the rest of the collective, demand more reinforcements".

"Unable to establish a connection. Transmissions are facing interference. No communication with the rest of the Collective".

"It must be the Goliath. Destroy her".

Red Giant:

The Goliath is deploying Omega Particles in the stars corona. As the ship is transferring to a higher orbit, a large group of Borg vessels emerge from transwarp.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"They have taken the bait".

"Situation?"

"Most of the ships are headed towards us. Only a few are going to the Omega Particles".

"Time to see if the new cloaking device is all it's cracked up to be. Activate it".

Red Giant:

As the Borg fleet approaches the Goliath, the Goliath fades out of sight. The Borg activate their scanners, and attempt to find the Goliath.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"They can't seem to find us".

"This is not your run of the mill cloaking device. It immerses the ship in a subspace field. Technically, we no longer exist".

"That is slightly disheartening".

"Never mind, Anders. Fire the trilithieum torpedo".

"Are you sure this will destroy the star?""This weapon was developed by El Aurian scientists. Trust me, we know more about doomsday weapons than you do".

Red Giant:

The Borg are fanning out in all directions, attempting to locate the Goliath. A strange flash emerges from out of nowhere and an object darts into the star. The trilithieum detonates and causes a chain reaction, one that triggers a supernova. The star explodes, destroying the Borg and the Omega Particles. The Goliath is unaffected, as the blast wave rips through the Borg but passes harmlessly through the Goliath.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"Another fleet obliterated by a single warship".

"I don't believe it. This is impossible".

"Cavell, when you are as old I am, you learn to redefine possible on a daily basis".

"There is only one fourth of their force left".

"Let's put phase three into effect. Time for this fight to end".

Spatial Grid 22829:

The surviving Borg ships are preparing to enter transwarp, when their sensors detect another source of Omega Particles.

Borg Command Ship:

"What is the location of the Particles?"

"They are located on a radioactive asteroid. The asteroid is engulfed in a gaseous anomaly. Sensors unable to make a composition report".

"The composition is irrelevant. We must have those particles. Set a course for that asteroid".

Radioactive Asteroid:

The remain vessels of the Borg armada are entering orbit around a large asteroid. The radioactive elements of the asteroid are disrupting the Borg scanners. They are unaware that the asteroid is surrounded by explosive materials, or that there is a tricobolt device implanted on the far side of the asteroid.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"Put the trap on screen".

"Aye, aye".

"Status of the Borg?"

"They have all entered the gas cloud".

"Mr. Anders, trigger the trap".

There is a tremendous explosion, as the device once again ignites the gas like a torch. The Borg are instantly incinerated.

"YAAAHOOO".

"The command ship, has it been destroyed?"

"Confirmed, Admiral. We have done it".

"Bridge to sickbay, it's time. Take us away from the radioactive debris. It is time to end this war, once and for all".

Various Areas in the Universe:

Using the unconscious drone, the crew of the Goliath manages to trigger a system wide malfunction in all Borg vessels throughout the Collective. The various self destruct mechanisms are activated, as all Borg ships begin to erupt in flames. From the Alpha Quadrant to the Unicomplex, the Collective begins to destroy itself.

USS Goliath, Bridge:

"Success. We are reading numerous explosions throughout the Galaxy".

"All assimilated planets report in, sir. The people are free. They wish to thank their saviour".

"Very funny, Icheb".

"I'm serious sir. We are getting messages from hundreds of different planets, all wishing to speak to you. The man who destroyed the Borg oppressors".

"Your words or theirs?"

There is a bright flash throughout the bridge. A young man materializes next to the Admiral.

"Why, theirs of course".

"Q! I should have known you had something to do with this".

"Give me a little credit, Admiral. I think this was a fine solution".

"A solution to what?"

"I knew that there was no one in this universe to stop the Borg, so I brought in some outsiders to do the job for me".

"Can't you clean your own mess for once".

"Hey! I didn't make this mess. But I did have to clean it up. And I thank you".

There is another bright flash and Goliath is no longer in its previous position.

"Sir, according to this, we are back in our own universe".

"This is your reward. You saved my universe, now I am sending you back to yours. Be safe, may the Continuum bless you".

The young man disappears in a bright flash.

"Set a course for the nearest star base. This has got to be one of the weirdest missions I have ever completed".

"Should make an interesting after action report, sir".

"And I expect it on my desk tomorrow morning, Roe".

"You want ME to do it?"

"Roe, I just saved Galaxy. You don't expect me to do all of the work do you?"

The End.


End file.
